At present, more and more users are using IM services. These IM services provide a network storage function, thus the users can look up the chat history at any time by accessing a storage server.
When using an IM service, a user needs to register and log in an IM service system, which is commonly referred to as “get online” The IM system distinguishes users by assigning different user identifiers (or called user addresses or user accounts) for different users. The user performs login registration and intercommunication using this user identifier. In order to improve the user experience, more and more cell phones support “multi-identifier” function, that is, a user can possess a plurality of user identifiers, and the plurality of user identifiers can be registered to be online simultaneously, also can be used in different time period respectively. An IM storage service is that the IM system stores message records associated with the user identifier to a specific storage server, and the user accesses the storage server using the user identifier through an IM client. During accessing, the storage server needs to authenticate the identity of the user (that is, the storage server confirms the identity of the user identifier); after the authentication is passed, the user can operate the stored message records.
Taking a typical Converged IP Messaging (CPM) service of IM for example, the CPM is proposed by the Open Mobile Architecture (OMA) in 2005, with a purpose of implementing the intercommunication among multiple message services, providing a uniform message service and perfecting consistent and convenient message service experience. The CPM combines multiple existing message services, comprising IM, Push-To-Talk over Cellular (POC), Mobile E-Email (MEM), Short Messaging Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), etc.
At present, the OMA is establishing CPM V1.0 standards. The service forms of the CPM comprise: CPM based on pager-mode, Large Message Mode CPM Message based on session-mode, other CPM session services based on session. Before a user normally uses these services, the user needs to register and log in a CPM system, commonly referred to as “get online”, or referred to as “available in the CPM system”.
A CPM addresses are identifiers used for distinguishing different users in the CPM system (also referred to as CPM Enabler, i.e. CPM service engine). In order to improve the user experience, in the CPM system, one user can possess multiple CPM addresses and can be registered on multiple terminal devices, that is, “be online” simultaneously. When a user accesses a CPM storage server, the server needs to authenticate the identity of the user; after the authentication is passed, the user can access message records associated with the authenticated user address.
The inventor finds that the following problem appears in an IM system supporting multiple user addresses when a user accesses a storage server: the user conducts communication through a certain user identifier and communication message records associated with the identifier are stored in a storage server; when the user changes to another user identifier to conduct communication, each time the user identifier is changed, an identity authentication is needed again before the user accesses the storage server. That is to say, when a user with a plurality of identifiers accesses the storage server, the user must log in using multiple identifiers repeatedly to acquire the stored messages corresponding to the multiple identifiers, but can not acquire the stored message records of multiple associated identifiers of the user simultaneously.